Breakfast Gumbo Madame Recipe

Scanning social media one day, I came across a southern breakfast gumbo with all the traditional breakfast items of grits, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, etc. Given my history of gourmet cooking, I had to create my own rendition of Breakfast Gumbo.

Naturally, as an Alabamian, I immediately knew this dish would be using McEwen & Sons stoned ground organic grits and Conecuh Sausage.  Nothing against scrambled eggs, but due to my days in Paris, France this adjustment only makes sense: a fried egg on top, or better known in the culinary field as “madame.”

The breakfast gumbo recipe includes a few ingredient items that are optional but add an authentic New Orleans like taste for the dish. The sausage can also be removed from its casing and crumbled to cook. Pancetta is a great extra ingredient for an extra layer of taste for those of us who require more pork in our breakfast. Certainly this dish can be served with biscuits or breakfast toast.

Breakfast Gumbo Ingredients:

McEwen & Sons Stone Ground Organic Grits- cooked according to package directions – makes 4 cups

Conecuh Sausage – sliced in round medallions – approximately 8 oz.

Chopped white onion ½ cup

Finely chopped fresh garlic – about two cloves

Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 tablespoons

Kosher Salt – 1 teaspoon

Fresh ground black pepper

Chopped Green Onion – garnish

Chopped Pancetta (optional) 1/3 cup

Chopped celery (optional) 1/3 cup

Chopped bell pepper (optional) 1/3 cup

Emeril’s Seasoning

Parmesan Cheese – grated – just enough to garnish on top

2 eggs, fried separately as desired

Preparing Your Breakfast Gumbo Madame

Season cooked grits with Emeril’s seasoning, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Sauté the sausage, onions, bell pepper, garlic, celery, and pancetta in sauté pan with the olive oil. Cook thoroughly. Season with kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and Emeril’s seasoning. In another pan, fry the eggs individually. In two single serving oven-safe pans (I use ceramic au gratin pans), spread about 2 cups of grits as the bottom layer, top with half of the sausage mixture, top with one fried egg (Madame), garnish with fresh grated parmesan cheese and chopped green onion. Bake at 350° until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Pamela’s Key Lime Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 Cup of softened butter

5 eggs

3 Cups of King Arthur Flour

¾ cup buttermilk

2 cups of sugar

½ teaspoon of baking soda

1 ½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon of baking powder

1/3 cup key lime juice

Glaze:

1 whole box of powdered sugar

4-5 tablespoons key lime juice

Key Lime zest on top of glaze to make it pretty!

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bundt pan
• Combine all the dry ingredients and set aside.
• Whisk juice and buttermilk in separate bowl
• Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Slowly individually add eggs until combined. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture slowly alternating between the two until combined.
• Bake for 45 minutes to one hour.
• Remove from oven when a toothpick test yields “clean.”
• Let rest until almost cool then turn cake over onto a cooling rack.
• Mix glaze until smooth and creamy but not thick. Pour glaze over top of cooled cake. With a zester, zest the rind of a key lime over the glaze to finish!

Bon appetite!

Dr. Paul Howard’s Man-Chili Recipe

Ingredients

2 Tbsps. Olive Oil

2 Pounds Sirloin Steak Cut into 1” cubes

1 lb. Ground Beef 80/20 or leaner

3 Links (or 12 oz.) of Fresh Chorizo Sausage, casing removed

1 Large Yellow Spanish Onion, chopped

1/3 Cup of Chili Powder

2 Tbsp. Garlic Salt

1 Tbsp. Dried Basil

2 Cans (14 ½ oz. each) Peeled Whole Tomatoes, Un-drained

1 Box (32 oz.) Beef Broth, low-salt

2 Cans of Dark Beer

1 Cup Chopped Cilantro

2 Cinnamon Sticks

4 Fresh Bay Leaves

2 Large Green Jalapenos slit long ways 3 times each otherwise leaving the peppers intact

3 Tbsps. Yellow Cornmeal

Salt & Pepper to taste and/or Cayenne Pepper (gently)

Grated Cheddar Cheese and Sour Cream Garnish!

Directions

(1)   Heat the olive oil in a large pot to be used for the chili.  Brown the sirloin chunks in batches.  Remove from the pot and drain.  Add the ground beef, chorizo, and the chopped onions breaking up the meat and sausage with a wooden spoon.  Return the sirloin to the pot.

(2)   Stir in the remaining ingredients except the garnishes.  As the chili cooks, break up the tomatoes with the wooden spoon.  Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to simmer for at least 2 hours.

(3)   Before serving, remove cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and jalapenos.  Serve in deep bowls garnished with a dollop of sour cream and grated cheddar cheese.

Add fresh cornbread with butter and you have a great fall or winter meal to watch football in front of the TV!